Hear Me Out
by DaydreamingOnPaper
Summary: What will happen when an idiot prank temporarily leaves Hiccup deaf? How will his family and friends react? Terrible summary, hopefully the story is better?


Astrid paced anxiously, awaiting Hiccup's arrival. She and Fishlegs had recently spotted a Gronckle in the clearing up ahead in the forest; however, the dragon was far from acting as sweetly as Meatlug or any other of the specific breed. The animal, whom they discovered to be a female from special markings on her tail, was in a rampaging mood.

"C'mon, Hiccup..." The blonde shieldmaiden but her lip, and soon enough her prayers were answered. Her boyfriend came sprinting up, metallic peg creaking, with her chubby friend bringing up the rear.

The Haddock boy didn't waste time with introductions. "Show me to her..." Astrid simply pointed, knowing not to get in the way of the expert trainer. Upon entering the clearing, where the Gronckle was bucking around like a bull, he pulled out some dragon nip.

"Easy girl, that's it-" he moved carefully, not wanting to disrupt the dragon. "Now what seems to be the problem, hm? Can't be Dragon Root, your a Gronckle...then what- aha!"

Astrid beamed as she follows the boy's gaze to the paws of the creature. Fishlegs, still panting but almost recovered, raised a thumb in exhausted support.

"Looks like you've got a bur! Want me to take that out for you...?" The calming tone could be seen visibly bringing down the dragon's fury. Ever so gently, Hiccup stepped closer; not once did he break eye contact. Once he was only a small distance away, he beckoned for the Gronckle's paw. He placed out the dragon nip, to keep the dragon's reaction level low, and quickly pulled the thorn out. Hiccup winced in sympathy as a tremendous roar was let out. However, the animal licked his hand in thanks, showing the teen that it did not blame him for the pain. He smiled, saluting it informally.

"No problem. See you around, huh?" With that the two parted ways, the other two teens congratulating the impressive feat. Again he simply smiled and began walking towards Berk.

After surviving the deadly task of removing a simple bur, Hiccup had to admit that he was pretty drained. It doesn't get any easier, no matter how much training and practice you squeeze in. Due to his tiredness, though, he didn't notice the obvious signs that trouble was afoot (a/n: badum tshh...sorry XD). The Haddock boy stared down at the dirt trail he was following, humming to himself as he thought about what else he'd need to get done later in the day. A snap from a twig and he was alert. A blast, and he realized he needed to get out of there. And then finally, seeing a tree trunk falling right in his path, he knew it was time to panic. Jumping out of the way of the trunk with surprising agility, Hiccup could make out three laughing figures running from the brush. He should have guessed; Snotlout and the twins. However, he had more important things to worry about- there was a gargantuan branch heading straight for him. As the bark made contact with his body, he heard his cousin approach.

"Surpri- Hiccup!" The panic in his tone was the last thing he heard, other than Astrid's surprised and angry shouts. A ringing filled his ears as his sight faded to black, watching the teens cluster in horror. And then there was nothing.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think he'd actually get- ow! You're gonna rip my ear off, Astrid!"

"Great! It would serve you right! What made you muttonheads think that this could possibly end well?!- Fish, make sure his foot doesn't get caught on a rock, and hold his head a little higher please." The larger Viking obliged, adjusting Hiccup in his arms as they made their way back to Berk. Why hadn't they brought their dragons? They had them for almost every occasion, but it seemed whenever they needed to hurry they were always forced to travel by foot. Astrid returned the edge to her voice as she turned to the twins.

"And you two! Weren't you supposed to be cleaning up the Great Hall today? I thought Stoick made it pretty clear he wanted the pink paint off the walls..."

Ruff snickered, oblivious to the very-real crisis they might be in, and smiled. "Eh, we thought this would be more fun..." Tuff nodded, before shaking his head vigorously. The fierce blonde girl glared daggers at him and his twin.

"Think this is fun, do you?! Well, we'll see how fun it is when you not only explain to the Chief what you did, but you also tell him that the Hall is still a lovely shade of magenta!"

Fishlegs readjusted Hiccup in his arms once more, to avoid an oncoming tree root that might get tangled in his prosthetic. He then cautiously turned to Astrid, shooshing her.

"Careful not to wake him...if he regains consciousness before we get back, he might just get himself into more danger!"

"And what makes you think that?" Snotlout huffed, not daring to even glance in the direction of the steaming-mad Hofferson.

She used his fear to her advantage,though. "Do you even know him?! He'd get up and try to walk around on his own; Hiccup is too stubborn to admit when he needs a little help, even when he's mere inches from death!" Her outburst got another round of shooshing. She grumbled, but perked up a bit realizing they were almost to Berk.

"Ruff, Tuff, you two run ahead and get Gothi. You've sent enough people to her shack for her to know when she sees you, it means trouble." They didn't even bother denying it.

"Seems fair. Hey I wonder if she still is missing that one part of her toe from when we-"

"Just go already! And hurry, I don't wanna be alone with Astrid for too long..." Snotlout rolled his eyes at his friend's antics, trying hard to keep from shivering at the girl's might. Fishlegs grumbled at the Jorgensen.

"What am I, spoiled Yaknog?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead finding a place to temporarily set the knocked out Hiccup. While he was busy, Astrid smiled evilly.

"Oh don't worry, you won't have to be with me for long-"

"Thank gods-!"

"-because you'll be fetching Stoick. And then explaining what you did once he gets here." The smug look on her face was priceless, though not as much so as the frozen features on Snot. "Now, run along. And hurry, or you'll have to deal with both and angry chief and an angry girlfriend." No need to tell him twice; he was off, whispering prayers beneath his breath.

"We're back! And we got Gothi!" The twins had amazingly been wise enough to think of getting Barf and Belch before returning. Upon landing the elderly woman hopped off gracefully and hobbled over to the son of the chief.

She pulled up his slouching head, and pulled open his eyelids. She checked his unseeing emerald eyes before making a mental note. Then, turning his head, she peered into his ears. For one of the first times that the teens had ever seen, Gothi looked confused. Tapping her finger on her temple, she pointed at her shack.

"I think she needs to check her books..." Fish gulped, pale faced and curious. "Maybe she hasn't seen this before on Berk...oh gods!" His heart pumped so quickly the others could hear it as Gothi indeed hobbled away in the direction of her home. As if on cue, Stoick marched up towards the group. Gobber and a cowering Snotlout were not far behind.

"Where is he-? Oh, Hiccup! What did you do now?!" The chief got a rushed explanation from the three offenders in reply, and with each word he got a bit more red in the face. A hand placed on his shoulders by Gobber luckily calmed him down.

"Let's get him to his room then. And I'll be seeing you three-" he pointed at the teens, who were trembling once more behind a semi-amused Fishlegs and Astrid. "-at the Great Hall to explain to the village why Hiccup won't be up and about for a while to help with the dragons." The twins gulped.

"Speaking of that-"

"-yeah, it's still pink. It was his fault, though!" They got into a slap war, annoying the others, and the two older Vikings hauled Hiccup up to his bed.

It was the next morning. The villagers were all but pleased about the incident, mainly because of Hiccup's health (though being the "feelingless" Vikings they try to be, they convinced themselves it was because they needed his expertise). Toothless had since been reunited with his rider, resulting in a few toasted butts when explained why his friend was unconscious. The Night Fury had stayed up all night with Stoick and Astrid, watching Hiccup; all three insisted on tending to him until Gothi returned with news on his condition.

What they did hear, though, they were far from prepared for; she had no idea what was wrong. She'd explained through her runes that she might have some books on what was going on with Hiccup, but she definitely hadn't seen anything like this on Berk before. Nothing from before her time had been documented, either.

Astrid was petrified. This could either be something simple or, more likely, a disaster. She could barely keep herself from bursting into tears when Stoick went down to make lunch. She tussled Hiccup's hair before standing up to pace. In a few minutes she had returned to her chair.

This vicious cycle had been going on for the past hour before she noticed his eyelids twitch a bit. Alerting Stoick, and at the same time expressing her excitement, she began tearing up and calling his name.

"Hiccup! Chief, he's waking up! Oh, Hiccup, don't ever do that again! We were terrified!" By this point, he had sat up in his bed completely. His eyes were wide as his bright green eyes watched her flap her lips. Stoick came rushing in soon after, to find an ecstatic girl and apparently confused son. Toothless was also thrilled, jumping off the walls. Only the large Viking seemed to take notice of the dazed appearance on the boy's face.

"Hiccup...?" Talking only made his already troubled features frown with more intensity. He shook his head, reaching his hand up to his ear.

"Son, is everythi-?" Hiccup didn't seem to take notice of the words as he brought his hand up to his ear, knocking on his head and pulling at the lobe. He bit his lip, then reached for a piece of parchment to write on. Once he had his message down, he signaled to Astrid and his father to read it.

'Go get Gothi; I can't hear anything.'

A/N: So this is going to be a story about Hiccup becoming deaf and essentially beginning a Deaf community in Berk. I'm not trying to portray being deaf as a handicap, so if it seems like that in any way please correct me! I'm only in my first year of an ASL class at my school so there are definitely things about Deaf culture and such that I need to learn still.

His deafness will only be temporary, by the way. It might not seem too important now, but its relevance may increase as the story goes on.


End file.
